Veneto

“On the good side of the hill”- says their Instagram profile, but the privileged geographical contours of Tedeschi wines have existed centuries before the Instagram era. A prominent winemaker from the Valpolicella region situated around the city of Verona, Tedeschi is known for its wines that are highly representative of their region’s terroir and a toast of many around the world.

For a producer that exports more than 85% of its production, Tedeschi has recently added India to its export destinations. Maria Sabrina Tedeschi, the Marketing Head of her family enterprise, arrived in the country for the first time ever to connect with this growing market. I had the privilege to dine with her at Sorrento, the Italian restaurant at Shangrila Eros hotel in New Delhi. It gave me an excellent opportunity to learn more about their famous wines that are now available in India in retail as well as in restaurants.

The Tedeschi Legacy

Historical records validate the Tedeschi family as making wine in the Valpolicella region since 1630. They are renowned for their Valpolicella, Amarone and Recioto wines made with the popular Veronese varietals like Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella, as also the lesser known Oseleta, Dindarella, Negrara, Rossignola and Forselina. Apart from wine they also produce limited quantities of Olive Oil and Grappa.

If there is one thing that the Tedeschi family is really proud of , it is their foresight over generations in adapting to the changing requirements of winemaking. It has enabled them to produce quality wines vintage after vintage in a sustainable way. A perfect example comes from the 1960s when their family patriarch Lorenzo (Renzo) Tedeschi decided to separately vinify grapes from their now flagship Monte Olmi vineyard, thereby creating one of the very first single-vineyard wines from Valpolicella.

More recently in 2010 the Tedeschi family started a “zoning” and “characterization” program that traces the different behaviour of vines despite homogeneity of their land composition. The research has enabled them to intervene in the vineyards in a targeted fashion, thus ensuring uniform vegetative development. Similar such initiatives have allowed their winery to become completely sustainable in agricultural management and in the wine industry. For their sustainability initiatives, Tedeschi has received the Biodiversity Friend certification and is also under certification according to the Equalitas standard.

The Tedeschi family has always sought to produce terroir wines, i.e. wines that are only produced with grapes from the hills.

-Maria Sabrina Tedeschi

Today the Tedeschi family business is headed by Renzo actively supported by his three children Antonietta, Sabrina and Riccardo. Family being the key element of their success, they continue together the interpretation of terroir that their ancestors began centuries ago.

Notwithstanding the strong family orientation, inheritance is not taken for granted by them, as Sabrina brings out:

There is no doubt that family is important to our business right since the beginning. But it does not imply that the responsibility of shouldering our heritage passes on automatically across generations. I joined my family enterprise only at the age of 34 after having worked elsewhere until I thought that I was ready to take on my responsibilities. Similarly I and my siblings have adviced our next family generation to feel free to join the family business only when they feel the passion for it deep within.

Tedeschi in India

Four of Tedeschi wines have been introduced in India through their importers Prestige Wines and Spirits Pvt Ltd. I sampled these wines at the dinner with Sabrina that saw a well-curated menu by Executive Chef Neeraj Tyagi of the Shangrila Eros hotel. The wines are available in major Indian cities both in retail as well as hospitality spaces.

Apart from the “official wines” at the dinner, the hosts also announced a “special” wine ferried personally by Sabrina to be served towards the end of the dinner. Our anticipation knew no bounds even as we saw the first of the wines poured at the gathering.

Tedeschi Capitel Tenda, Soave DOC Classico 2017

Grapes: 100% Garganega
ABV: 12.5%
Price: ₹ 3300

This wine is made with grapes from vineyards located in the commune of Monteforte d’Alpone – the oldest area of origin in the Soave Classico region.

The wine was clear pale-lemon with an expressive floral and fruity aromas. Crisp on the palate with flavours of peach and dried apricot, it worked extremely well with a creamy-umami Tuna Tartare on a bed of Avocado Mousse.

Tedeschi Valpolicella DOC Superiore 2016

Grapes: 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella.
ABV: 13%
Price: ₹ 3300

As compared to a basic Valpolicella wine, a Valpolicella Superiore implies a higher alcohol content and a minimum one-year ageing. Accordingly, Tedeschi Valpolicella DOC Superiore is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for a year followed by 6 months in the bottle.

The wine was served as an aperitif during the evening but many of us at the dinner decided to also sample it with the first course alongside its official pairing with the Valpolicella Ripasso.

With a deep ruby colour, the wine expressed aromas of red fruits and sweet spice. On the palate, it had firm and rounded tannins with flavours of red cherry and raspberry finishing on a grippy and warm alcohol note. Some found this wine as a better pairing with The Risotto Al Pomodoro rather than the officially paired Valpolicella Ripasso, but my preference stuck with the original.

Tedeschi Capitel San Rocco, Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore 2016

Grapes: 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella.
ABV: 14.5%
Price: ₹ 4050

Ripasso implies an ancient winemaking technique that involves “repassing” Valpolicella wine produced the preceding autumn, on the unpressed skins of Amarone wines after these have been decanted in March. The technique renders additional flavours and alcohol to the Valpolicella wine.

I found this wine to be highly complex and great value for money for the power it packs. The wine was deep ruby in colour with aromas of blackberries and fruit jam. It had weighty on the palate with a full body, supple tannins and a lasting finish. Like I said above, the Ripasso wine worked well for me with the Risotto Al Pomodoro on the evening’s menu.

Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2014

Grapes: 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella.
ABV: 16%
Price: ₹ 10000

Amarone wines are in a class of their own with their laborious elaboration well justifying their cult status. These wines are made with partially drying out (a process called apassimento) the harvested grapes before they are crushed and fermented. The resultant berries have a higher concentration of sugars and an enhanced organoleptic profile that results in wines with higher complexity and alcohol levels.

The grapes for Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG are dried in controlled humidity for 4 months after which they are soft pressed and fermented for 40 to 60 days. The resultant wine is aged in Slavonian oak for about 3 years followed by bottle ageing for 6 months.

Recall the “special wine” ferried by Sabrina to be served towards the end of the dinner as elaborated above in this article. It turned out to be a prized Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 1995 that was decanted an hour plus in advance. It gave us an excellent opportunity to compare the two Amarones almost two decades apart- an exciting proposition for any true wine lover. Here are the tasting notes side-by-side:

From the food pairing options of Herb Crusted Lamb Rack, Pan Seared Black Cod and Truffle and Ricotta Filled Crepes with the Amarone 2014, I went for the Black Cod, being inquisitive as to how this robust wine would fare with the fish (the other two being apparent no-brainers).

I was pleased to find that the pairing worked well enough- if not famously. The well done Cod had ample texture that was further bolstered by the Sardinian couscous and lobster tomato bisque.

As for the Amarone 1995, it was optimally matured, having a smoothness and complexity that made it enjoyable on its own, or with food. An apt description of the wine came from Subhash Arora, President of Delhi Wine Club who was seated beside me at the dinner. In his words: “an aged Amarone like this is nothing short of a meditative wine with which you could spend hours after dinner over a cigar”. Meditate we did, but substituting the cigar with assorted cheeses.

A kind of “pairing” that Tedeschi would hope to achieve with wine lovers in India.

Not long ago as I stood browsing the sparkling wines section of an upmarket store, I overheard a young couple exclaim- “this Champagne looks good for the gift”! Even though not inclined to eavesdrop, being within listening distance meant that I was party to their immediately following conversation. It  revealed that they were looking for a wine gift for their close friend’s anniversary. Reflexively, I hovered my eyes on the wine bottle and it turned out to be a Prosecco!

Paying the price for fame has been Champagne’s old predicament and for now we leave the subject at that. The real issue highlighted by the above incident is the average Indian consumer’s knowledge deficit of wine. Hardly surprising, since India at best is considered in the first quadrant of the learning curve of wine. What’s encouraging though is that the climb on this curve has been rapid, a major reason for which has been consumer engagement initiatives being undertaken by wine importers and producers.A recent such engagement was “an evening with Carpenè Malvolti” the winery that is accredited with evolving Prosecco as a sparkling wine. Antonio Carpenè – the founder of Carpenè Malvolti in 1868 – and later his son Etile, gave an important contribution to the development of the so called Charmat Method (or Metodo Martinotti) in pursuance of his dream of producing a sparkling wine from Conegliano Valdobbiadene. The rest is history as Prosecco is now virtually  a synonym for sparkling wines from North Eastern Italy. In 1876, Antonio also founded the Oenological School in Conegliano that was instrumental in perfecting the method.

But is defining Prosecco as simple as putting the sparkle in a still wine? Absolutely not- as you would expect from any wine with a depth of history.  Prosecco has clearly demarcated regions and regulations that define the various levels of its quality. Let has have a brief look at them:

• The overall Prosecco region stretches between Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

• In the earlier day, “Prosecco” referred to the grape varietal, which is now called “Glera”. Since 2009, Prosecco has been protected under DOCG and DOC disciplinaries, ensuring that wines labelled with the name come only from the specified quality areas of Italy.

• As per regulations, Prosecco should be made from minimum 85% Glera grapes with the remaining 15% permissible from other varietals such as Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera Lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero.

• Prosecco can be made as Spumante (fully sparkling), Frizzante (semi sparkling) or the now very niche Tranquillo (still). However only the Spumante version can qualify as Prosecco Superiore.

• The Charmat method, which involves secondary fermentation of wine in large tanks called autoclaves, makes the production of Prosecco more economical than the traditional method of secondary fermentation in individual bottles, hence more affordable to the consumer. However it doesn’t imply that the the resultant wine is necessarily inferior. The Charmat method has its distinct advantage in preserving the primary aromas of  grapes, making the resultant wines highly aromatic and lightly frothy on the palate.

The Prosecco Quality Pyramid

Prosecco DOC (556 Municipalities):  Spread all over Veneto (except for Rovigo Province) and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Prosecco DOC Treviso (95 communes): Higher quality DOCs contained within the province of Treviso.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG : (15 Communes): Produced exclusively in the hills of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene zone. There is also a smaller Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG to the south west of Conegliano Valdobbiadene (see map above).

DOCG Rive: The term “Rive” indicates steep hills that are characteristic of a particular subzone enclosed in only one Municipality or Village, within Conegliano Valdobbiadene area. 43 such Rives, produce wines of high quality with distinct characteristics.

DOCG Superiore di Cartizze: The top of Prosecco quality pyramid, Cartizze comes from a sub-zone that covers just  107 hectares of vineyards, in the shape of a pentagon, lying amidst the steepest hillsides of San Pietro di Barbozza, Santo Stefano and Saccol, in the Municipality of Valdobbiadene.

About Carpenè Malvolti

The Carpenè Malvolti winery is located in Conegliano, in the heart of the DOCG. The company exports 55% of its production with its largest markets being Switzerland, Canada, Germany, USA and UK. 95 % of its production is Sparkling Wines with the rest 5% being distillates, viz. Grappa and Brandy .

The current (fifth) generation at the helm is Rosanna Carpenè , who represents the entrepreneurial future of the family and is also the President and Founder of the “Institute for New Technologies for the Made in Italy of the Food and Beverage sector” (I.T.S.). Her father, the fourth generation Etile Jr  Carpenè is a guiding force, affecting the company’s restructuring of its national and international distribution and as well as furthering their research and innovation initiatives.

From the time that Antonio Carpenè startedthe first significant production of Prosecco, each generation of the Carpenè family has made significant contribution towards the legacy that stands today. Significant among those is resurrecting the winery after the two world wars, further refining of the Charmat method, setting up vital institutions to protect the Prosecco heritage and making forays in the global marketplace.

In India the brand is being imported by Aspri Spirits Private limited- a notable wine and spirits importer in the country. They are presently importing 1868 Brut Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG , priced in retail at approx. Rs. 2400.

One wine – several courses

The New Delhi consumer connect of Carpenè Malvolti saw the company’s Global Sales and Marketing Director Demenico Scimone and Paolo de Matteis Larivera (Rosanna Carpenè’s husband) arrive to share a dinner with wine aficionados. The event was organized by Aspri in collaboration with Artusi Ristorante and Delhi Wine Club.

It is rare that a single wine can pull through an eight course dinner entirely on its own strength. Carpenè Malvolti 1868 Brut Prosecco Superiore DOCG  did so with ease, given its dexterity of character. Significant credit for the pleasant pairings also goes to the hosts’ careful curation of the menu where the creamy and savoury hors dœuvres set the initial mood followed by the main courses of salads, pastas and meats. The dinner demonstrated another important aspect of wine and food pairings, i.e. affinity of regional cuisine with wines from the same land.

Towards the end of the dinner I asked Arun about any immediate plans of importing more labels from Carpenè Malvolti. His response was pragmatic:

Our current focus  is to consolidate the brand before looking at expanding its portfolio.  This label is intended for the consumer who is a little evolved in his discovery of wines and wants to experience one of the finest Proseccos.

With consumer connect endeavours like these, such evolution is likely to happen sooner than later.

Images of the Soirée

The difference between a wine producer and a fashion designer is that the latter can produce something good for 24 months, after which a new design is necessitated. In contrast, a grapevine planted today will bear fruit not earlier than 4 years, with the wine being available for consumption in another 2-3 years. Wine hence, is always a long term perspective.

These words of Mario Piccini came fresh to my mind as I shared lunch with him on a pleasant November afternoon in New Delhi. Barely a few months back Mario had made this interesting comparison during my one-on-one conversation with him  in Castellina in Chianti from where he presides over his wine empire, exporting to 72+ countries worldwide.

Back then, Mario had signed off with a promise to visit India in November 2016 and invite me to share a meal with him. True to his stature, the promise was kept and I received a special invite from Prestige Wines and Spirits- Piccini’s importer in India- requesting me to attend a lunch with him during his day long visit to New Delhi.

My conversation with Mario Piccini featured in this post largely took place in his Valiano estate in Chianti, but I waited to gather some more ‘pearls’ during his then upcoming India visit. I was not disappointed as I was able to capture this video where Mario raises a toast to the cultural affinity between India and Italy.

The Interview

What enthuses you about the Indian market for wine that brings you to the country on your maiden visit?

Mario Piccini (MP): When we last met in Tuscany, I had mentioned about the relevance of  long term perspective applicable to wine. In the Indian context, though the initial market size may be small,  I would still like to invest resources in the country for the promise that it holds. We would like to do that largely through customer education initiatives- by having brand ambassadors who can present our wines in the right fit of Indian culture and cuisine.

What would you like to see as changing in India related to the wine business atmosphere apart from the all obvious travails of taxation?

MP: Addressing the high taxation issue  remains an important issue, because one can always guide people on drinking wine but not put money in their hands to buy it.

The other important thing is to create an impression that wine is more about culture than plain indulgence. Wine is all about sharing good moments with friends, acting as a social binder. Needless to mention, it  also brings extra value to one’s dining experience.

I would like to see such a culture developing in India. The need of the hour is to guide wine lovers  not only on what to drink, but how to drink ! We would like to see a whole range of Indian food being paired with our wines. As my experience holds, a Tandoori Chicken goes really well with a nice Rosé wine .

When I was 6 years old, my grandmother would make a concoction of wine with water in a 20:80 ratio and offer it to me with some bread at ‘Merenda’ – a meal time between lunch and dinner  in Italy . This gives an idea of  how closely wine is integrated in the Italian culture.

Coming to Indian food, which are your favourite preparations? Apart of course from the Tandoori Chicken that you just mentioned.

MP: I love Indian food and have tried many preparations. I do not remember the exact names but I can describe a particular mutton dish which had lemon, mint and some curry served with lemon rice on the side. I also like various vegetable and chicken preparations and Indian breads like ‘Naan’. In fact this Saturday I will be in London and have asked my daughter to book a table for us in one of the Indian restaurants in that city.

Being a major producer from Tuscany, what is your take on traditional versus Super Tuscan wines?

MP: I think each of them is in its own league. The old denomination Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano etc are the important foundation of Tuscany’s heritage. They have been around for hundreds of years and are uncompromising.

Super Tuscan wines on the other hand prove the versatility of terroir . They are just to give an idea on how to become contemporary in history. A 100% Sangiovese as Brunello or arriving at a beautiful blend of Sangiovese with Cabernet like Sassicaia both work very well. My perspective on such innovations is that as long as these give stimulation to the producer to go for something better on quality and consumer appeal, they always turn out good.

I happened to try one such innovation as a wine produced by you called Memoro Rosso. What was the idea behind it?

MP: We created the Memoro label to convey the idea that quality cannot solely be defined through Denomination of Origin. Under the sun and nature anything is possible- variable being the human penchant for innovation. In Memoro Rosso, the idea was to have a quality reunion of different grapes produced in large volumes in different regions of Italy. Hence we have a blend comprising of 40% dried late harvest Primitivo di Manduria, 20% Nero d’Avola to render the fruit (plums, cherries, strawberries), 20% barrel aged Montepulciano di Abruzzo to impart the structure and 10 % Merlot del Veneto for light and fresh flavours.

Further, consider this overwhelming scenario of wine service:

With Memoro Rosso, we intended to alleviate  situations similar to the aforesaid and offer a wine that even a novice can order as an “Italian Red Wine”.  At the same time, we wanted to create a blend that is easy to pair with a variety of cuisine.

Being present in various regions of Italy, does Piccini have any expansion plans into other Italian wine regions?

MP: We are indeed exploring some other areas within Italy for our next generation. Tonight I am leaving for one of the prospective regions with my son Michelangelo (smiles) though I have asked him whether he would agree to pay for the proposed new venture.

Organic wines are being accorded a lot of importance in these times. What has Piccini’s approach been towards these?

MP: We have gone about organic viticulture in a big way. We feel that the focus should not just be to maximize production through factoring every resource available to us in the modern times. They have to be analysed with due consideration towards sustainability. I think that in the next 10 years, everybody will have to revert to earlier days of organic farming irrespective of around 15% of production getting lost in the bargain. As for Piccini, majority of our estates viz. Chianti Classico , Brunello, Aglianico, Bolgheri and Etna are in their 3rd year of organic adaptation. By the next harvest (2017) all our wines will be produced organically .

What about biodynamic wines? Do you think they are good idea?

MP: For producers with large vineyard areas, biodynamic wines are not easy to manage- their suitability restricted to little parcels in the current day . The logical costs involved in producing these wines push them beyond the reach of the average wine consumer. Since wine is more of a social than a classy drink it is important to keep costs in check so that it can remain affordable to the majority of wine lovers.

That said, biodynamic wines are in a distinct niche and a wonderful option for people who can afford to buy them. But until the costs are optimized, their relevance will only be restricted to a select few.

Did you know?
Piccini’s striking orange label was adapted as a consequence of a debate between Mario and his sister Martina who wanted to incorporate red and yellow colours respectively. Elisa, the youngest of Piccini siblings intervened and made them settle on an orange label that has ever since become a hallmark of Piccini’s Chianti wines .

How do you think that the global climate change has been affecting your vineyards? What measures have you incorporated to counter its effect?

MP: When I was a little child, I remember that we had harvest in Chianti Classico region during end October- early November. Today the global warming has pushed harvest timings to at least fifteen days in advance, at times even a month. These changing patterns have made us to adapt  measures like choosing the right clones to plant and incorporating sufficient foliage to protect the grapes from harsh UV rays. Earlier we would go to the vineyards in September to prune excess foliage, but if we do it in today’s climate, we would only be doing passito wines (laughs).

I remember my father worrying  before harvest every year  “Is this year going to be difficult?”. The difference is that today we worry “How difficult is this year going to be?”

But has the fruit quality been affected because of climate change.

MP: It is precisely to maintain the fruit quality that we have gone back to the organic way of farming. We have been spending more time in the vineyards than the winery- to continuously check the crop as to when it is ready for harvesting.

There are also situations where we cannot do much, like in case of the thin skinned Sangiovese grapes getting damaged beyond redemption during heavy rains. However, we have to take things in our stride.  To look at the positive side, we treat each vintage as a different baby that develops in mother nature’s womb and comes out at the right time with its unique identity among billions of beings.

Mario Piccini’s philosophy of  life
Unfortunately we do not know how our respective lives will finally belong , but one can surely decide how large it can be. The person who lives more is actually the person who has happy memories. Every morning I wake up, I consider it as my first day. I want to learn everything possible in that day.

Photo Feature: Piccini Wines

Piccini's Valiano Estate Vineyards

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June 2016 was super active month for Guns 2 Gewürztraminer. Before you wonder about the veracity of this claim- considering it has been more than a month since my latest post, this has been exactly the reason why! I was on a whirlwind tour to Austria and Italy, exploring the world of wine, barely finding time to awaken the mobile screen to capture the beautiful but fleeting moments. Moments that I am now well equipped to share in subsequent posts. As a start, I endeavour to give you a bird’s eye view  of this wine journey through a route map and five collages coupled with summary description of what I call ” a picture perfect wine journey’.

1. VieVinum 2016

This grand Austrian wine fair happened in it’s 10th edition between 4-6 June 2016 with exclusive pre-event engagements for invitees. The fair has grown rapidly over the years and it showcases a mammoth range of Austrian wines along with some international presence. Organised under the aegis of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) it aims to promote Austrian wine industry in a focussed manner. Apart from tasting a 1000++ wines, the icing on the cake for me was to converse one-on-one with Mr. Wilhelm (Willi) Klinger, Managing Director Austrian Wine Marketing Board (see bottom right photo of the collage). The interview will appear shortly in print, as well as in this space.

2. Visiting Weingut Elfenhof, Rust, Burgenland

The picturesque town of Rust in Burgenland, Austria can easily be called a storybook quartier, replete with its floral promenades, a 315 km²  lake Neusiedl and expansive vineyards peppered all across . Weingut Elfenhof is a 17th century winery of the region that produces a diverse range of quality wines. Ernst Holler, the current generation owner (seen in the collage with me) was kind enough to pick me up from Vienna and host me in his town for a day full of vineyard and winery action. The time flew just too fast…

3. Friuli- the under reported wine region of Italy

Even the folks in Friuli were pleasantly surprised that I chose the region for an elaborate itinerary when in general, the whole world  thinks of Tuscany as their first choice of exploring the Italian wine country. But let me tell you- if you have not explored, wines like Ribolla Gialla, Friulano (earlier known as Tocai Friulano), Refosco, Tazzelanghe, Picolit, ‘Orange Wines’ and several others, it would be a good idea to do so at the earliest- as there is a whole wide world of enchanting wines lying out there. As for Tuscany, it was my next stop quite logically……

4.  Banfi and Piccini- the Tuscan racehorses

The names need no introduction. Banfi- for their groundbreaking research on the Sangiovese vine to produce outstanding Brunello and Super Tuscan wines and Piccini- the distinctive ‘orange label’ producer of Chianti wines who have innovative wines like the pan-Italian blend called ‘Memoro’ in their portfolio.  Oscillating between Florence, Siena and Montalcino, I was on a roll (much like the Tuscan slopes) to meet the owners, visit vineyards with winemakers and sample countless wines around choicest cuisine.

5. The sophisticated charm of Allegrini

Be it the high vineyards of the Valpolicella DOC, one of the top Amarones from the region, or a unique Brunello from their Tuscan vineyards , the house of Allegrini evokes acknowledged respect amongst winelovers. Hence it was only natural for me to visit them, given just a day’s schedule in the region. Meeting and conversing with their indefatigable owner Marilisa Allegrini in this short duration was nothing less than a stroke of luck.